Just My Luck
by ddolly6
Summary: Max's world has been crumbling around her, ever since her mother revealed the fatal disease that would eat at her until she died. Max has just had to say good bye to two of the people she loves most. How will she cope with giving seven new hello's? One of them to the the tall, dark, and man of few words we all know and love. And what if someone from her past resurfaces?
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: Hey everyone! I actually doubt there's anyone reading this, but if you are, thank you so much! This is my very first ever fanfic, so I'm still trying to figure out the site, much less how to write well. Any kind of criticism is welcome, or any helpful hints. Wish me luck!**

Chapter 1

My head snapped to the right as my nose detected the scent of heaven on Earth. In a daze, I floated over to the kitchen, in search of immediate satisfaction in the form of chocolate chip cookies. Not bothering to notice anything else, I started to shovel in the gooey goodness. Licking my fingers, I savored every bite, somehow knowing that this was a short lived victory. All of the sudden, a voice pierced through my haze of ecstasy. I couldn't understand what it was saying, but I recognized the voice to be Ella's. I looked over to see a strange, mutated form of her. She was a combination of an angry flight attendant, and my tanned, bubbly sister.

Another voice pierced through my groggy brain, but this time it was a hoarse, deep voice. "Hey kid!" It yelled angrily. Finally, my eyes snapped open and my ninja skills activated. Without even noticing it, I had gotten the man in a chokehold within seconds. Upon hearing him gasping for breath, and recognizing his uniform to be one of the Southwest Airlines flight attendant uniforms, I released him.

Amused by my talent to infuriate someone even in my sleep, I decided to test his limits further. "You could really use a breath mint. Guess you've been eating too much bad airplane food, tubbs," I said patting his rather rotund stomach.

I stood there for a few seconds, watching in awe as his face went from red, to purple, to an odd shade of blue. Knowing that this was pushing my limits, I rushed off without waiting to hear an answer. As I ran off the plane, I heard him shouting profanities, causing me to smile triumphantly. Ah, the joys of anoying people.

Very quickly after my little, uh, run in with the poor flight attendant, the reality of my situation and why I was currently running through the airport crashed down on me brutally. You must be irritated that I haven't told my story yet, aren't you? Well, as much fun as it is to annoy people, I guess I'll fill you in now. I guess you could say that the start of my troubles occurred when I was six. I know, I know, I had an early start, but what can I say? I'm a very advanced kid. Anyway, I was six when my dad walked out on us. I didn't actually witness it firsthand. But I heard the screaming and the door slamming. Oh boy, was there screaming. I think that soon after that was when I learned about sarcasm and the fine art of snark. Again, I'm a very advanced person.

If you think that must have been the end of my troubles, you would be mistaken, my dear. You would be mistaken because I am Maximum Ride, and I always seem to draw the short straw. However, I didn't have much to complain about for a while after that. I grew up, gained muscles, broke a few faces; don't laugh, I had my reasons. Things were fine until I was about seventeen years old. It was the middle of summer, in between my sophomore year, and my upcoming Junior year. School was supposed to be great for me that year. I was actually excited for it. I had been on the varsity soccer team since freshman year, star shortstop in softball, MVP setter in volleyball, and a standing ovation worthy point guard for the basketball team. Not to mention that they called me the mermaid on the swin team, and elastigirl in gymnastics. I did pretty well in school too, all A's. My friend group was tighter than ever before. I thought I was invincible.

But then Mom dropped the bomb. One day my mother came home from work (she was a Vet) with a scary mask of calm dominating her usually open, friendly features. All I really remember was the look on her face as she told us that she had ovarian cancer, and the scream of pain and anguish that erupted from Ella's throat. I had been silent throughout my mom's speech, knowing that Ella needed a rock, and I had always been that unshakable foundation for her.

Unfortunately my troubles didn't end there either. Soon after, Mom declared that Ella would go to live with the mystery godparents that we had never even heard of before. But there was no changing Mom's mind after she set it on something. I had to get my stubbornness from somewhere didn't I? So Ella left, but Mom had accepted the fact that she needed someone to stay with her until the end, and I had taken on that job, much to my mother's dismay.

Needless to say, mom fought the good fight, but eventually succumbed to the darkness, as we all knew she would, but were unwilling to accept. I would go into more detail about that, but I prefer to bottle up the emotions until absolutely necessary. Without me knowing it, before mom lost too much independence, she had written out her will, left everything to Ella and me, and had arranged for me to fly out to my godparent's house after her inevitable death.

So here I am, standing in front of some airport in California with two small bags and a backpack consisting of everything I owned. Not much, I know, but we had to sell a lot of personal items in order to pay the hospital bills. I tried to make sure Ella gave away as few things as possible, so I gave away the majority of my things.

Currently, I was waiting for this mysterious godmother of mine to show up and bring me back to her home, and Ella. From what my sister has told me over the phone, they have three sons and two daughters. Now you may feel free to stand in awe of my sister's brilliant powers of observation. Although, I probably would've learned more if I hadn't zoned out the second the words 'fashion', 'crop top', 'halter top', 'flare jeans', or any other obscure fashion term was mentioned.

I was suddenly broken out of my reverie when a motherly looking lady, mid forties or so, walked towards me and asked politely, "Are you Maximum Ride, Ella's sister?"

I nodded, relieved to finally meet someone I knew. Er, well, someone I knew _of_. But I was suspicious. "How did you know it was me?" I asked my face quizzical.

She looked at me brightly and said, "You look just like your mother." In a chipper voice, she said, "I'm so excited for you to meet my family! I'm Grace Stewart. Your mother and I were roommates in college. Here, let me take your bags, and we'll take off," at the thought of m meeting her family, the smile was no longer forced.

Not feeling particularly talkative, I just nodded and followed close behind my new guardian as she strode off towards what I assumed was her car. Unless, you know, she was a creepy ex convict, who needed a fast ride out of town and figured I would be a perfect accomplice. After all, I do have amazing ninja skills. In any case, she got in the driver's seat, while I jumped into the passenger's seat.

I guess my silence didn't go unnoticed, because, with amusement laced through her voice, Grace said, "Not much of a talker, huh? Well, you'll get right along with Fang, then."

Fang? She can't be talking about an actual Fang right? I assume my mother wouldn't have left me with a couple of certifiable loons. "Umm, is Fang your pet dog or something?" I asked, perplexed.

"Ella didn't tell you anything about our family?" Grace asked, disappointed. "I thought she would've at least told you our names," she said as she drove along the freeway. Grace sounded a little hurt that I didn't know anything about her beloved family.

"Actually, I'm sure Ella went on and on about you guys, but honestly, I zone out whenever fashion is mentioned," I admitted, allowing myself a short sentence. Before I had the weight of my mother's death in my shoulders, I would've been loud, proud, and sarcastic, instead of saying the bare minimum. I wasn't depressed or anything, and I'm still way sarcastic and stubborn, but I wasn't as loud anymore. Honestly, I wasn't as confident either, but you wouldn't notice that from the outside.

Grace laughed and said, "I'm the same way with Nudge. Goodness, that girl can go on forever about anything and everything, but I love her," I guessed that, Nudge was one of her daughters. Man, this family must have a thing for nicknames. Grace continued, "Oh and I'd better warn you ahead of time, Nudge has no mercy when it comes to dressing you up like a Barbie doll. Especially now that there'll be another girl older than her in the house, she'll go crazy. Not to mention the fact that you only brought two suitcases," she gave me a look that said 'good luck with that'.

I chuckled, assuming she was exaggerating. Later I would find out the she may have even been underestimating Nudge's capacity for dressing people up. Anyway, the conversation went on for a little while longer, but I soon drifted off to sleep, somehow exhausted from doing nothing on a plane for four hours. But this time, I dreamt that I was in the arms of a boy with a dark shroud hanging over him. Surprisingly, it was not a nightmare.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: To anyone who's reading this, thank you so much for following through. I wasn't really pleased with the last chapter, but i think this one is a little better, though that isn't saying much. I'd love it if you could review.**

**Chapter 2**

Wow, this passenger's seat must be really comfy._Ah_, I sighed, _this is the good life._Oh wait, these feel like arms.

Ninja skills _activate._ I flipped out of the dark strangers arms, grabbed his legs and flipped him head over heels. My next move was to sit on him, and pin him down, allowing for no movement whatsoever. I looked down at my victim and instead of seeing the look of terror that would have satisfied me, I saw a single raised eyebrow. He was amused_. Amused_. I was shocked, a little offended, but mostly confused. I looked around as if my surroundings held all the answers.

Before I could open my mouth to say anything, a golden blur hit me and knocked me over. Instead of letting my ninja skills take over, I smiled. "Ella," I breathed.

Apparently I wasn't quiet enough, because a deep voice behind me laughed and said, "She flips the guy who tries to gallantly carry her inside, but not the person who tackles her to the ground."

Everyone laughed, so I picked myself and Ella up off the ground and grinned, "Aw come on, who could ever imagine hurting this little ball of dough," I said squeezing Ella's cheeks between my index finger and thumb as she blushed furiously.

"Max," Ella whined, "I'm beginning to wonder why I was so excited that you were coming back. Wait, why are you back already?" She asked innocently.

I froze. Everyone wore identical confused expressions, even Grace, so I guess none of them knew. What could I say, 'sorry Ella, the person you love more than anyone else, and haven't seen for the last 5 months just died'? I don't think so. I settled for, "We'll talk about it later Ells."

Her face crumpled as the realization must have hit her. I pulled into a big bear hug and patted her back while she cried, right in the front yard. I murmured comforting things and took the opportunity to look over her shoulder and take in my surroundings as well. Oh yeah, I'm an awesome multitasker.

The guy I had released my ninja skills on had gotten up and dusted himself off. He was now looking at me with a new respect. I smirked at that. I also saw confusion in his dark eyes, and I really couldn't blame him. He thought he was carrying an innocent, sleeping girl. He was trying to do the right thing, but instead he got a face full of their freshly mowed grass for his troubles. To top it all off, Ella had just had a random mental breakdown after tackling this strange girl to the ground. It was a lot to take in.

Also standing there with his mouth open in shock was a tall blond boy with milky blue eyes. He towered over even the man I presumed to be the father figure of the house. He had to be at least 6'3". I think he was the one who mocked the dark haired one for getting flipped by me.

A dark skinned girl was standing next to him, looking like she was bursting with questions for me, but also wanting to comfort Ella, as well as wanting to bombard her mom with questions. Just thinking about all of that made me dizzy.

A little boy with curly blond hair looked up at me in awe, also unable to say anything. He stood maybe up to the tall blond one's hip. He was holding another little girl's hand. They looked like they could be siblings, but for the most part, none of the other kids appeared to be related at all.

The one who I thought had to be Grace's husband was dark haired and dark eyed, much like the boy who had been trying to carry me. He looks like he could be the dark haired one's father, but not any of the others.

Finally Grace stepped in and said gently, "Kids, maybe you should go inside and do something else while the Ella and her sister get packed." She turned to me and said, "We'll let you two be alone for a minute, and do introductions at dinner, alright?"

I nodded my assent, and picked up a still crying Ella, heading towards the door of the two story house. The only problem was that the two tallest ones, blond and dark haired, were blocking the way. I cleared my throat loudly and gave them each pointed looks.

"Do you need some help?" The dark one asked not unkindly.

I glared. Of course I am capable of carrying my sister up one flight of stairs. And honestly, I didn't really want to make friends with any of these people. I was only here for Ella, and because it's what mom wanted. "I can take care of this just fine, thank you," I said curtly.

"So you can carry two suitcases, a backpack, and your sister up a flight of stairs?" The blond one asked, one eyebrow raised.

Oh. I sighed, "I guess you can take my bags up to Ella's room," I relented.

They both rolled their eyes at the same time. Creepy. I also noticed that something seemed wrong with the blond one's eyes for some reason, but quickly dismissed the thought. There's no need to get curious about these people already.

"My name's Iggy, and this is Fang, by the way. He doesn't talk much," the blond one said, trying to start a conversation as they led me to Ella's room. I tried to coax Ella out of her fetal position in my arms.

"So this family has a thing for nicknames, huh? Well, I'm Maximum, but you can call me Max."

"Will Ella be okay?" Iggy asked concern evident in his milky eyes. There it was again, why do his eyes look so strange?

I snapped back to attention immediately. "Eventually," I answered shortly, hoping to avoid further interrogation. My eyes flicked over to the dark haired one, Fang.

''Hmm, your mom also told me that you don't talk much," I remarked, steering the conversation back to him.

He shrugged, "I don't waste words, where words are not necessary."

"That's deep," Iggy remarked approvingly. "Well, here's your stop. Are you sure there's nothing we can do for you or Ella?"

I laughed; of course Ella's already got them wrapped around her finger. "She's already grown on you hasn't she?" I said, more than I asked as I tugged Ella tighter, now giving her more of my attention.

Gosh, I wish I could hear the thoughts going through her head right now. Her mother had sent her away to live with seven strangers, leaving me behind. I knew that had to be hard for Ella, and now, right when she was starting to get comfortable, I come in a ruin everything for her.

I sat with Ella, murmuring things I hoped were comforting, occasionally singing lullabies our mother had sung to us. I guess somewhere in there we both drifted off, Ella in my arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I woke up slowly, unsure of where I was. Reluctantly I opened my eyes to find Ella curled up in my arms on her bed in the unfamiliar room. This seemed to bring the memories rushing to the surface. Mom on her death bed. The sound of her last breath whoosh out of her. Her last words:

_Take care of Ella, Max. Sacrifice yourself to keep her happy.  
_  
I bit my lip to keep the tears at bay. A single, rebel tear slid down my cheek, even though I could taste the blood in my mouth from fighting it so hard. I took a deep breath, practiced my fake smile, and gently removed myself from Ella. I dragged my feet as I sleepily trudged over to my suitcase to grab some athletic shorts and whatever T-shirt my hand happened to touch first. Of course, my ensemble wouldn't be complete without throwing my hair up in a messy ponytail.

Satisfied with my just woken up, rumpled look, I opened the door and peeked in the hallway. I frowned. Everything was dark, and everyone's doors were closed. I stepped back into Ella's room and checked her clock. 6:00. _6:00!_ No wonder I was so tired and grumpy. No one should ever have to wake up before noon.

Well, I couldn't go back to sleep now. My stomach rumbled, painfully reminding me that Ella and I had slept through dinner the day before. In search of food, I started towards the stairs and what I hoped would be the kitchen. At the landing, I was faced with a fork in the road. Left or right. Right or left. Well, neither of the hallways looked more or less traveled by than the other, so I took a wild guess, and walked left. This took me to what appeared to be a workout room sort of thing.

_Wrong way,_ I thought, retracing my steps and taking the right hallway this time. Now I was met with the living room, and trough there, the kitchen. Ah, success. I quickly found the pantry, and grabbed whatever looked good. Hmm, no one can mess up noodles right?

Wrong. Five minutes later saw me standing with my mouth open standing in fornt of the disaster that was now the Stewart's kitchen. Oops.

I heard a herd of elephants rushing down the hall (hehe heard a herd). Well, it soundsed like elephants at least. It turned out to be the whole household rushing in to see what the, er, well, _explosion_ was. I never claimed to be a good cook!

"Ugh," Ella groaned, "only Max could make _pasta_ explode!"

I just shrugged. "It's a talent I suppose."

"It's alright, we're used to it because of two _certain people,_" Grace said, looking pointedly at Iggy and the little blond boy.

"Two very special and loved people," Iggy added.

"Special ed," someone muttered, causing the two boys in question to glare.

"Just cause you are doesn't mean every—"

"Now, now, I'll get this cleaned up, and all of you can introduce yourselves to Max," Grace said with resigned authority.

"I could clean it up it you—"

"Living room, now!" I guess there was no arguing with Grace.

The dark skinned girl started to babble about something I couldn't follow. "I'm so excited that you're _fiiinnally_ here Max! Ella told us all about you, and I'm so excited because we can do gymnastics together, and play soccer, and I can dress you up, and-!" She gasped. "ZOMG! Me and Ella can set you up and we can dress you up to go on dates! Ohmygoodness Ella, we have to tell Max all about Alexander. He has the dreamiest eye—"

"Nudge!" Everyone yelled in unison.

"Don't scare the poor girl. Remember what we told you before Max got here?" the father scolded.

"Yes," Nudge said sheepishly. She mimed zipping up her lips and making Fang swallow the pantomime key. Fang scowled at her, not amused. Nudge just shrugged.

"Alright Max, take a seat, make yourself at home. I'm Jim Stewart, the father of all these demons," he said cracking a grin.

I laughed. "Well, you already know I'm Max, and I'm pretty sure I can handle them Mr. Stewart."

"Call me Jim, Mr. makes me feel old,"

"That's 'cause you are," Iggy mumbled under his breath.

Jim rolled his eyes and motioned for Fang to introduce himself.

He began, "I told you last night my name is Fang. I'm eighteen, and I'll be a Junior this year."

"A Junior?" I asked, curious. He should be a Senior at least if he was eighteen.

He looked at me for a second, as if deciding how much to tell me. "I think that's Iggy's story to tell." That just made me more curious, but I didn't want anyone to bug me about my past, so I didn't bug him.

"I'm Iggy, as you already know, and I'm seventeen. I'll be a Junior this year too. My parents adopted me, and I'm blind, which is why Fang stayed back a year in kindergarten. We always have the same schedules in school, so he can help me out. Also I'm a bit of a pyromaniac," He said the last bit with a toothy grin. Blind. He really got around well for someone who couldn't see. I don't know if I would have noticed it except for the milky blue eyes. Also, He seemed to have no shame about his disability, which gained him some respect.

I nodded at Iggy in acknowledgement. Nudge tried to start her introduction, but the little blond one and Iggy, who were sitting on either side of her, simultaneously slapped their hands over her mouth. The little blond one answered for her. "Sorry, if we let Nudge start, she'll never stop. Nudge is adopted too; all of us are actually, except Fang. Mom had one kid, and then they found out they couldn't have any more. Anyway, Nudge is fourteen, and a freshman in high school. She is a fashion nut. Actually, she and Ella have become almost inseparable because of it."

I shot Ella a sharp look as if to say, _"She's good for you right?" _

Ella responded with an exasperated look that said, "_Of course, don't worry so much." _I noddedreluctantly in acceptance, and looked back to the blond boy who had previously been observing our silent communication with amusement.

"So, I'm Gazzy, don't ask why, you don't want to know," I grimaced, already having heard enough. "I'm ten and in fifth grade. I'm Iggy's partner in crime." He jerked his head to gesture to his family, "They all call us the pyro twins." HE seemed pretty proud of his and Iggy's nickname, as well as the title of 'Iggy's Partner In Crime.'

Next, the little girl came right up to me and sat in my lap. "Hi! Are you Max?" she asked with wide eyes, and I nodded. This made her break into a huge smile, "I'm Angel, I'm six!" she held up six fingers. "I'm gonna go to kindergarten this year! Are you gonna be my new sister?"

I blinked, taken by surprise. "I guess?" I hadn't been planning on making any friends any time soon, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to make a little girl smile. After all, she'd probably forget about it by tomorrow.

"Why aren't you living with your mommy?" Angel asked, her innocent eyes staring back at mine.

I didn't know what to say to this, so I quickly came up with something that would appease her. "Uh, Ella and I can't live with our mommy anymore," I said, my voice cracking.

"Why not?" she asked stubbornly.

I looked away, hiding my glassy eyes. "She's gone Angel, we can't live with her anymore." I said quietly, and with finality.

I looked up to see Ella crying softly, and everyone else looking at me with shock evident on their faces. Well, Fang had what I was quickly learning was the equivalent of shock on his face.

"Max, I think Grace and I need to talk to you and Ella," Jim said gently, with a soft look in his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Not Ella, she doesn't need to hear it again," I said, my eyes hard, unlike Jim's.

He looked at me for a second, respect shining through his eyes. He nodded, and led me back to the now spotless kitchen. Now that we were back in the kitchen, my stomach remembered its hunger. A loud growl emanated from my stomach, and I grinned sheepishly. "I missed dinner last night, and obviously breakfast didn't go so well this morning." Jim and the now present Grace laughed.

"Don't worry hon' I've got some pancakes cooking now," she replied kindly. "I assume you two didn't come in here to say hi?"

"Grace, Max has to tell us what happened to her family," Jim said quietly, hoping to thwart any wandering ears.

Grace's eyes widened slightly, and, pancakes forgotten, she turned to give me her undivided attention. "How much do you know?" I asked, not knowing where to start.

"We went to different colleges, I've heard from her twice in the last twenty years. Once pretty early on after college when we became godparents to each other's children, and once when she told me you two would have to live with us. I don't even know why you have to live with us or for how long."

I swallowed, desperately trying to find a way to avoid this conversation. And what did my brilliant mind come up with you ask? Absolutely nothing.

"Alright, my dad, Jeb Batchelder left us when I was six. I don't really know why—actually, thinking back on it, he might have cheated on Mom." At that point everyone on the room wore identical murderous expressions but no one said anything. "I remember hearing a lot of screaming. I was hiding in the closet of my room, trying to block it out." I shuddered as the memories continued to bombard me. "Things were quiet after that. Until my mom came home one day and told us she had ovarian cancer." I looked away, forgetting that anyone else was in the room with me besides my memories. "Her face…I had never seen her like that. And Ella…oh gosh, Ella. She was broken. That's the only way to describe her at the time. But I knew I couldn't let myself break. Couldn't let myself even be a little fragile. I had to be Mom's and Ella's rock. I remember I had made myself rules inside my head." I smiled bitterly at the thought. "I was never allowed to cry. I wasn't allowed to show my pain. I couldn't slip up ever. And I would always put them before me. That's how it's always been, actually, and I like it that way. Anyway, Mom decided it was best that she save Ella from whatever she could, so Mom sent her here. I had to stay home to help mom in any way I knew how; which was only to make her comfortable as she withered away, really. Her face was so pale, almost gray. It was sallow too, and gaunt. She was only skin and bones by the end; had no independence. What killed me was that I couldn't do anything about it." My hands clenched into fists, and I knew there would be little crescent shapes from my nails later. But I couldn't care about that now. "So now, here I am."

I didn't listen for their reactions, didn't give them time to feel sorry for me. I threw a hasty, "I'm going for a run!" over my shoulder. I have a vague memory of pushing the rest of the family out of my way as I sprinted to the sidewalk. There were voices shouting in protest, but that was far in the background compared to what was going on in my head. I didn't know where I was going, or what I would do when I got there. I only knew I needed to get away before I hit something.

I ran until I had to sit down before my legs gave out. I ended up at some park, and sat down heavily on the grass. All of the sudden, I felt a presence by my side.

I looked over, intending to shoo them away, but I saw that it was Fang. He must have followed me here. He earned some MaxPoints for being able to keep up with me; I had been running pretty fast.

"You okay?" he asked, regaining his breath.

"Of course," I said automatically. That had always been my immediate response when someone asked me that back home.

Something in the silence that followed made me want to break it. "Well, I will be. Eventually," I relented.

He was quiet for a moment, but I knew he wanted to say something. "You and Ella are so different. I expected another bubbly, outgoing, and extremely fashion oriented clone of Ella and Nudge."

"Ugh, no. I love my sister and all, but please call me out on it if I ever have an 'Ella' moment."

This made him laugh. He had a nice husky laugh that seemed to be more contagious than normal. Soon we were both laughing until tears streamed down both of our cheeks. It was ridiculous, nothing we had said had really been that funny, but both of us just burst out laughing you know? It was like our own personal inside joke that went on in our heads only.

We quieted down eventually, after getting some weird looks. I felt compelled to ask him, "Why did you follow me? I used to do that all the time at home, but no one ever really seemed to care."

"I don't know," he said, and just as the silence was becoming too much to bear he added, "I guess I just thought you might need a friend." He looked at me, and for some reason, his kindness made tears come to my eyes.

As the tears started to flow, he scooted closer to me and enveloped me in a hug. I tensed at first, not used to such an intimate touch from someone other than Ella. Apparently he wasn't expecting to do that either, because his arms were tense around me at first, but we both relaxed fairly quickly. It felt good to be comforted. I wasn't sobbing or shaking, just letting silent tears fall, as they had been waiting to since Mom first came home with the news. No, it wasn't just the thought of comfort, I realized. _He_ felt good. I was ashamed that my resolve had broken so quickly, but I couldn't keep myself from thinking, _Maybe it would be alright to make a few friends here after all._


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi again! I know i've been updating fast, but i want to get my ideas on paper as they pop into my head. Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten. I especially appreciate the constructive criticism and helpful hits. To HeadOverHeelsInHate: I'm glad you noticed that I fixed my chapters. I wouldn't have thought of that if you hadn't said it. Also thanks for telling me about trafficstats. I wouldn't have figured that out myself.**

**Anyway, Enjoy and Review!**

**Chapter 5**

My face tear-stained, but eyes dry, Fang and I untangled ourselves. He offered me a hand to help me up, and I just stared at it for a second. I was unwilling to put myself in the hands of another person, even for just a moment.

Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, Fang bent down to my height and looked me in the eye. "It's okay to trust someone, Max."

I took a deep breath, and placed my hand in his. He pulled me up with ease, surprising me with his strength. "Show off," I muttered.

He smirked. "You're just jealous," he said proudly as he started towards where I assumed his house was. _My home too_, I surprised myself by thinking.

"Why would I be jealous of an emo with twig arms?" I shot back, referring to his all black attire both today and yesterday.

"Well I obviously am not a twig because I can help up a 200 pound dead weight," he said teasingly.

"For your information, I weigh 115 pounds, and most of that is from muscle and height," I defended myself. I was only 5'6" compared to Fang's 6'1" or 6'2", but still.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Max," Fang bantered back. My default response was to shoulder bump him and huff. Of course, this turned into an all out shoving war. By the time we got to the front door, we both must have had bruises on our shoulders.

When we stepped into the living room, everyone was suddenly shouting at me.

"MAX!"

"Max, we're so sorry we didn't mean to make you run off."

"What happened Max? No one will tell us anything."

"I want a PEANUTBUTTER SANDWHICH!"

Everyone glared at Nudge as she screamed the last part. Nudge smiled sheepishly and ducked behind Grace.

"Are you okay Max?" Jim asked as everyone quieted down.

"Well, besides the_ bruises _on my shoulders," I looked pointedly at Fang, "I'm fine," I finished.

Fang just laughed. This, apparently, was not a common response from him judging by the expressions on everyone's faces

"Did…did Fang just…_laugh_?" everyone gawked at him, causing his usual expressionless mask to reappear.

"I guess I just like the new house guest," Fang shrugged.

I fist pumped. "Yes! I knew you loved me." Fang rolled his eyes as everyone continued to gawk at our banter.

"Where were you seventeen years ago when we needed you, Max?" Grace asked rhetorically. "It took Fang five years to say his first words."

"Hey, I'm a talented person." More seriously, I looked at Fang and added, "I guess we both understand the meaning of silence." He didn't say anything, but I knew, and he knew I knew, that he agreed. Or maybe I knew he knew that we all knew…ah forget it.

"Oh! Max, I just realized that you haven't unpacked yet; or seen your new room!" Oooh, can Nudge come help us unpack your bags Max?" I smiled at Ella's enthusiasm and nodded my assent.

"Yay! I'm so excited Max! Maybe after this we can go shopping and get some cute dresses. Ohmygoodness Max you're so pretty, I bet you would look _faaabbuloouss_ in red, or blue, or—"

I slapped my hand over Nudge's mouth, effectively silencing her. "Lead the way," I said, gesturing toward the stairs. Between walking through the house today and yesterday, I had learned that all the bedrooms were upstairs, and the living room, family room, den, kitchen, and workout room were downstairs. It was a big house. I'd have to ask Jim what his occupation was sometime.

While I was lost in thought, we had worked our way over to the door of my new room. Ella said, "I'll let you do the honors." She gestured toward the doorknob. I rolled my eyes at her dramatics and opened the door with exaggerated movements to appease her and Nudge.

The room was nothing special; I guessed it had been a guest room before I arrived. The walls were white, the sheets on my bed mismatching, and the curtains green. I didn't really mind, I had never been one for interior design or fashion trends anyway. In case you hadn't noticed.

The room had a bare closet and a bathroom attaching to it. I walked in a little further, digging my toes into the soft carpet. I sighed in contentment as I flopped onto the bed.

This feeling of security and, well, it wasn't exactly _happiness._ The grief and guilt were too heavy for that quite yet. I guess content was the best word for it. Anyway, that feeling of security and contentment lasted about two-point-five seconds.

Both Ella and Nudge jumped on my bed right next to where I was laying and started talking at the same time.

"Max, your suitcases are soooo small! We need to go shopping immediately! You are a fashion disgrace to this family." That must have been Ella. My dear, kind sister Ella. How subtle of her.

"We need to have an emergency shopping trip! I can't believe you only brought T-shirts and jeans!" Wait, how do they know what I brought? I jack-knifed on the bed and saw that Nudge and Ella must have snuck into Ella's room to collect my bags, and gone through them. The little devils!

I started to get up and show them who's boss, but thought _nah, it's just clothes_.

Ella and Nudge gasped simultaneously. "_Just_ clothes! I don't ever want to hear those words uttered within fifty miles of here ever again!" Nudge shrieked. Had I said that out loud? Oops. And _man_, Nudge was scary when you insulted clothes/

"Mom!" Nudge yelled, walking out into the hallway. "We need to take Max shopping immediately!"

"Nudge, honey, I can't hear you when you scream from upstairs!"

Nudge sighed flipped her hair over her shoulders and smiled at us, indicating with a nod of her head that we should follow her. Ella copied Nudge's action, while I just sighed, a resigned note in my voice.

We walked downstairs into the kitchen to find the three boys sitting at the table, heads bent together, whispering. At the sound of our footsteps, their heads whipped our way and they smiled identically. Cue nervous laughter; yeah that's not suspicious at all.

They all got up and backed away slowly as us girls looked at them strangely. O decided I'd worry about it later, and returned my attention to the task at hand: get out of the shopping trip.

"Grace, Max is in dire need of a shopping trip, immediately," Ella said dramatically. I rolled my eyes. I do that a lot don't I? Well, you'd better get used to it as long as Ella's around.

"If you girls say so; I guess we can go tomorrow morning. Right now we need to have dinner and then you three can unpack Max's bags. From what I heard you haven't done much of that yet," Grace said, an amused smile on her face.

In that moment, I admired Grace for her patience. I mean, she had to have had a lot of practice while raising these five kids, and on top of that, having two strange teenagers come to her house to live.

Nudge And Ella squealed, excited at the idea of dressing me up against my will. I, on the other hand groaned. "Grace, what have you gotten me into?"

"Oh don't worry hon', it would have happened sooner or later." She paused. "Maybe I'll make the boys go with you as well. That way you can get to know them better, and it'll get them out of my hair." Grace winked at me to show that she was joking around.

I laughed. Noticing that Ella and Nudge had gone off,-presumably to criticize my wardrobe as they organized it by color in my closet—my expression sobered. "Thank you, Grace. I know it can't be easy to deal with two grieving kids on top of your own children. Not to mention you lost a friend too."

Grace's expression softened. She must've noticed the apologetic tone my voice had taken on. "Max, honey. I wouldn't have let you two in my home if I thought you were going to be trouble. You are obviously good kids. Fang hardly laughs or speaks, but the second day you were here, he joked with you. I have never seen that happen. And Ella, what a sweet kid. She and Nudge are two peas in a pod." Grace's eyes glistened with pride. "And yes, it has been hard to know that my best friend is gone, but you and Ella are taking it exceptionally well. But if you want to see a counselor or somethi—"

"I'm not going to go see a shrink." I interjected. Then, feeling guilty for being so rude, I added, "Thank you for the suggestion, but I can deal with it on my own."

Grace gave me a doubtful look, but let it go anyway.

Suddenly, after a moment of silence, she said, "You know, your sister really looks up to you. Ella has talked about you pretty much nonstop since she's been here. I feel like we know you better than you do," Grace laughed. "You're a good role model, Max. And I think Angel likes you too," Grace said giving me a look, almost as if she were hoping I would rub off on Angel.

I just looked at her, utterly shocked. _She must have been exaggerating_, I thought not believing Grace completely.

All of the sudden, a loud series of beeps broke me out of my reverie. Grace gasped and turned off the oven, regretfully staring at what was supposed to be some sort of casserole. It was now a charred mess. The smoke alarm must have gone off.

"Oh well. I guess its Easy Mac tonight," Grace sighed. I was reminded once again of Grace's amazing patience.

"Well, you gotta love powdered cheese and noodles from a box!" I said. We both just laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh! I forgot to address this before, but you'll find out why Max's Mom was so harsh with her last words. It's all part of the plot. ****Thank you so much to all my reviewers. I'd love to hear some suggestions about how to make my story better, or if anyone is a little out of character. I know I made Angel a little more childish in this than she is in the books, but that was intentional. Review and read on!**

Chapter 6

"Maaaxx! We're all waiting for you!" I heard nudge's shrill yell from upstairs in my room. I was supposed to be getting ready for this mall trip, but really, I had just burrowed deeper into my bed.

With a defeated sigh, I got up and threw on a T-shirt and jeans. Of course, I threw my hair up in a ponytail, completing my morning ritual. Wanting to prolong my stalling time as much as possible I checked myself in the mirror, not really paying attention to my reflection.

Realizing there was going to be no stopping Nudge and her shopping trip, I trudged down stairs. Right in front of the door to the front lawn, I was met with bored faces from each of the boys, irritated faces from Nudge and Ella, and a surprisingly excited face from Angel.

"Stop being so dramatic Max, hurry up!" Now Ella knows how I feel.

"Well, I guess someone isn't a morning person," I mumbled, knowing she could hear me.

"You're one to talk about being a morning person!" Ella shot back.

"You're one to talk about being dramatic!" I retorted, sadly succumbing to Ella's childish games.

"Well you—"

"Are you guys coming or not?" I looked through the door to see that, while Ella and I had been bickering, everyone else got tired of waiting and piled in the car. I would have happily told Iggy that, no, I was not coming, but Fang's murderous look made me shut my mouth. Fang told me with his eyes that he blames me for his presence in the mall trip.

I responded by sticking my tongue out childishly. Apparently I was missing the good ol' days today.

Everyone else, who didn't understand Fang's and my silent conversation looked at me weirdly for sticking my tongue out randomly.

I jumped in the car next to Fang in the passenger seat, and we shrugged at the same time. Then in the same voice said, "We were eye-mmunicating." Then we each looked at each other and raised an eyebrow. Creepy; it gave me chills.

Just as Fang was saying, "Creepy huh?" Nudge asked, "Are you cold Max?"

I was startled for a second; not thinking anyone would notice me shiver. "Um, yes to Fang, no to Nudge," I said, assuming I had heard each of them correctly.

"How do you always know what each other wants to say?" Iggy asked, amazement threading through his deep voice.

"They're secretly twins who were separated at birth," Ella explained in a reasonable voice.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Yeah, you can tell by how much we look alike." The sarcasm was heavy in my voice.

Angel's sweet little voice jumped in from the back. "Max, what's your favorite color?"

The random questions surprised me into silence for a moment. Iggy put in his two cents and informed me, "Angel has this thing she does with new people. It's like a survey only she memorizes it all. Like this. Angel?" Iggy asked. "What's my favorite food?"

"Lasagna," the immediate response came from the back seat.

"Fang's favorite professional sports team?"

"The New Orleans Saints?"

"Nudge's favorite outfit?"

"Pink sparkly top with a layered black skirt that ends three inches above her knee. Black converse, straightened hair, and white dangly earrings," Angel listed without hesitation.

"Can I ask Max now?" Angel asked, annoyance creeping into her voice. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I couldn't even remember what I had eaten for breakfast that morning.

My stomach rumbled loudly. Oh that's right, _nothing._

"So Max, favorite color?" Angel asked innocently.

"Green," Angel unexpectedly answered her own question.

"Favorite food?"

"Chicken Cordon Bleu," Angel answered for me again. By this point I was thoroughly confused so I looked to Fang with a questioning look on my face, hoping he would sense me looking at him. He looked away from the road for a moment to shrug at me, looking just as confused as I was.

"…outfit? Random T-shirt and jeans. Any sports you play? Gymnastics, soccer, softball, volleyball, track…" I zoned out as Angel continued to ask and answer her own questions. What was surprising was that she got them all right.

It was my third day here and I had already broken my rules and cried, exploded pasta, ran about five miles in forty minutes, and now I suspected a six year old of stalking me. Great.

Just as Angel was finishing her rant about me, Fang pulled into a parking spot just about as far away as you can get from the doors of the mall.

I groaned. "You couldn't have parked any closer?" I demanded.

"Do _you _see any open parking spaces?" Fang replied.

"That's irrelevant," I mumbled not making any sense and knowing it. Fang just gave me a look, so I stormed towards the mall to catch up with Ella and Nudge who had sprinted away from the car and towards the mall.

"Alright Nudge we're ready for the full tour," Ella said brightly as we reached the doors at last.

_Full tour? Of an _entire_ mall? You've got to be kidding me. _

No, they were not kidding me. I tried to drag the boys around with me, but they had conveniently gotten 'lost' at Dick's Sporting Goods. After an hour and a half of looking through _every single stinking store_, we were ready to start shopping. _Start_ shopping.

Kill. Me. Now.

Sadly, I didn't have any assassins on speed dial, so we headed off to Forever 21. Honestly, the rest was a blur of trying on clothes, and swiping a credit card. I tried to block the whole experience out of my memory. _Maybe I am a drama queen_, I thought. _Nah_, I reconsidered, _this really is torture. _

After we had gotten about eight full outfits (Shoes, jewelry, shirt, pants, hair thingies, etc.), I tried what I told myself was one last outfit. _Hmm, these pants must be really flowy or something—wait! This is a skirt! _

"Ella! Nudge!" I yelled as I stormed out of the changing romm. "You know there's now way I'm wearing this ever." I held up the skirt with disgust plain on my face. "I'm more of an athletic shorts kind of girl."

"At least try it on, Max," Ella whined. "Pleeeaasse?" Soon Nudge joined her and they were both chanting, "Please, please, please…"

When my glare stayed unwavering Ella started to get an evil glint in her eyes. Then she turned on the Bambi eyes full power. My greatest weakness.

_Resist Max, you can do this! But they're so dang cute!_

Finally, my resolve broke and snatched the skirt back, and headed towards the changing room again. I threw on the outfit they had given me as fast as I could, wanting to get it over with.

When I stepped outside, I noticed that I had a bigger audience than I had for all the other outfits. Fang, Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge, and Ella stood in front of me, each with their mouths open in chock.

"How can she be so pretty without even trying?" Nudge breathed in awe.

"I know, and she eats so much! That's just not fair," Ella agreed just as awed. She had never seen me in anything other that jeans or athletic shorts.

All of the boys were speechless, so I directed my question towards them, "Is it really that bad?" I asked actually insecure for once.

There was silence for a long time, making me cross my arms and tug down the skirt to cover myself up some.

"You're...it's beautiful," Fang breathed. Apparently Fang had pretty much summed it up for everyone, because they all nodded vigorously. I blushed and made a hasty retreat back to the dressing room to change back into my clothes.

When I returned, I finally realized that there was something wrong with this picture, but I didn't know what. I had all my clothes on; Nudge had forced Gazzy, Iggy, and Fang to carry my bags of clothes. What was wrong? Then it hit me.

Angel. "Um, guys?" I laughed nervously. "Where's Angel?" They all replied with blank stares.

We lost a six year old girl in a mall the size of Rhode Island.

Big uh oh.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks so much for all the support. Don't forget to review!**

Chapter 7

"Okay, let's all stay calm and think about this before we start to panic," Fang says looking pointedly at me. I just give him an innocent look that said, 'me? Speak so rapidly that no one can understand and run in circles? No...' He just tools his eyes at me.

Gazzy, sounding surprisingly mature said, "Okay, so who saw her last?" Silence followed. "Okay, who did she start out with right when we got out of the car. "The silence becomes a little more desperate. "Did anyone see her get out of the car?"

This time the quiet becomes frightening. Now we start to panic. In a high and shrill voice Ella says, "Are you saying that we left a six year old in the car for five hours in ninety degree heat?" Even Fang is bordering on hysterical now.

We all sprint for the mall doors, completely forgetting about my bags of clothes, or Ella's and Nudge's much coveted purses. I'm sure at this point, we all have an image of a dead little six year old girl lying deceivingly peaceful in the backseat of the car.

Fang and I quickly pull ahead of everyone else, and reach the front doors at the exact same time. I start getting tired, and he's maybe two steps ahead of me now, as we are nearing the car. The suspense and hysteria still growing, Fang violently I locks the doors and we each yank one open.

"Angel! Angel honey, are you in there?" The only thing in my mind is find Angel, but no one answers. Fang and I look at each other with horror etched in our faces.

I snapped back to attention, and threw myself over the backseat, not bothering to pull the lever that would allow it to fold. To my growing confusion, there was no one in the backseat. Nada, zilch, zero_, nothing_.

"There's...nothing back here," I said to Fang, the adrenaline wearing off. We had created so much buildup only to find nothing.

"She has to be somewhere in the store then," Fang said logically. By this time everyone had caught up to us, and Fang filled them in on the situation. We all stood next to the car, intense concentration on each of our faces.

Eventually, we came to the decision to retrace our steps; which meant another five hours of walking. My stomach rumbled, reminding me that I had skipped breakfast, and now lunch. But there was no stopping for food. Not at a time like this, and everyone knew it.

After a few more minutes of arguing, we figured that splitting up would be the best decision. Ella thought that we should stay together, supposedly so that we wouldn't lose anyone else along the way; honestly, I think she was just arguing for the sake of arguing. I mean, who wouldn't take every single stinking opportunity to argue with your sister? Oh that's right, a _norma_l person who realized the _precariousness_ of the situation.

We decided that Fang and I, being the oldest at eighteen, would each take a group. I took Iggy and Gazzy, while he took Ella and Nudge.

We searched desperately for two more hours, stopping anywhere that looked vaguely familiar. Iggy stopped us all of the sudden. "Do you hear that?" Iggy asked abruptly, not really looking for an answer. He had stopped so suddenly that Gazzy ran into his back.

"Hey!" He started to say when Iggy shushed him distractedly.

"Quiet! I hear...giggling?" He said, more a question than a statement. Iggy started to walk to the left, then shook his head and turned around. "It's coming from over here," he gestured to his right.

We turned a corner to be faced with the one place we hadn't looked before. The kid's playground. A little blond, curly-haired girl was sitting on a plastic rocking horse, giggling at something her imagination had come up with.

We all groaned in unison. "Angel," Gazzy whined, no longer sounding mature. "You were supposed to stay with us!"

Angel looked over, startled from being ripped from her giggly daydream. "Oh, hi guys!" She said cheerfully as if nothing had happened. And I guess to her, nothing did happen. She had just been playing at the playground the whole time. I'm sure it was the best day of her life, I thought bitterly.

"Come on angel, we're leaving," Fang said gruffly, grabbing her hand. We were all exhausted and irritable, the result being a silent car ride home.

When we finally arrived back home, everyone immediately headed for the kitchen. There we found Grace, slaving away at the stove. _When is she not in the kitchen?_ I thought to myself

"Hey kids!" She said brightly. "Did you have fun?"

"_Some_ of us did," Iggy said glaring at a spot about half a foot to the left of Angel.

Angel giggled nervously, beginning to crack under his intense gaze. _Oh wait, we're all glaring at a six year old. _

Trying to take the attention off of Angel, I asked, "So Grace, what're you making?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Angel give me a grateful look. I winked at her in response.

"Food," she replied smartly. I huffed, irritated and not satisfied with this answer.

Grace opened her mouth, and we all knew that we were about to get the third degree, so everyone made themselves comfortable, knowing that escape was out of the question. I sat next to Fang at the dining table, with Ella and Nudge across from us. Gazzy and Iggy hopped up on the counter, leaning back against the wall. Angel jumped onto my lap, catching me by surprise. Hoping to keep her entertained, I bounced my knee up and down, as she erupted in giggles.

Fang leaned back, trying to get more comfortable, and put his arm on the back of my chair. I shivered involuntarily. I think I hid it pretty well, actually. I squashed his hand with my back playfully. He just glared and tugged on my hair. When he thought he had caused sufficient bodily harm to my scalp, he rested his hand on my hair, absentmindedly stroking it.

Am I forgetting something? Oh yeah, Grace was about to interrogate us. "Did you get anything good?"

Fang and I looked at each other, and I face palmed. We had left all my bags at the mall. I guess I could look forward to another fun mall trip tomorrow. Cough, cough, _torture_, cough. Sorry, had to get something out of my throat.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the late update! I know everyone uses this excuse, but it's true: I've been so busy with school, and sports, and this stupid club I'm in. Also, I'm sorry if these first chapters are a little slow, I think/hope that these next few will get more exciting.**

Chapter 8

I heard someone clear their throat loudly. "Um Max? There's no time limit for eating breakfast; you know that right?" I heard Iggy's voice ask.

I _had been_ peacefully eating my breakfast with no worries in the world. Except, well, my mom just died, my dad left us, looking after Ella...I'd rather not go on. Too depressing.

I took a few deep breaths to hide my inner turmoil. "I like food, is that a sin or something?" I replied snarkily, reverting back to my usual defense system.

Iggy snorted. "How can you eat so much, but not gain weight? Are you bulimic or something? Trying the ol' binge and purge diet?" He teased.

"No, but you might want to try it." I smirked triumphantly at him. Naturally, his next move was to chew up some food and open his mouth to show it to me.

What else was I to do but return the favor?

"Ew, gross Max. Some people are trying to eat like civilized people," Ella said, her face twisted up in disgust.

"I understand," I said, a condescending sympathy dripping from my voice. "So could you please stop that Fang?" I looked at him innocently.

He then looked at me, an amused smirk on his face. "Why, is my beautiful face distracting you?"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Fang," I said, keeping the same condescending look on my face.

"I guess you'll be needing Mr. Fluffkins for that, won't you Fang?" Gazzy taunted. Mr. Fluffkins? What the heck is that

"No! He's mine now, Fang only just gave him to me three months ago!" Angel protested vehemently.

"I only kept him because Grandma gave it to me!" Fang tried to defend himself. Emphasis on _tried. _That was when the pieces connected in my head. I figured that Mr. Fluffkins must be some sort of stuffed animal that Fang had slept with until just recently. I filed that information away for later use.

We were all on the floor laughing by this point, except Fang, who looked quite irritated.

"Okay, okay, let's not hurt Fang's feelings," I said, desperately trying to keep a straight face. "Or else he might have to go crying to Mr. Fluffkins!" Everyone busted up laughing again. I had tears streaming down my face, cramping constant laughter.

Grace walked in just as we were all recovering, our faces red, and tear tracks as evidence of what had just transpired. She entered the room, took one look at us, and walked right back out. "I don't wanna know," she yelled over her shoulder.

We all erupted again. At the sight of us Fang I even giggled a little bit.

Eventually we all got over it and continued on with our day. I went up to my room, hoping to find a book to occupy me. Then out of the blue Grace popped head popped into my room. She closed the door behind her, with a neutral expression on her face. I knew this was serious. Gulp.

"Max, school is starting this Monday. You don't have to go, but I thought I'd let you know just in case. Ella said she might be interested, but I got the feeling she might want to check with you first."

I sighed in relief. It would be just like me to get in trouble within four days of being here, but finally, luck was on my side. "I think I'll go to school this year. I just want to go back to my regular schedule you know?"

"Alright, I tell Ella you've made a decision. I think you should be the one to talk to her though." I nodded and she started towards the door.

Grace stopped abruptly and said, "Max, I didn't see anything unusual on the bills recently. I told you to go crazy on my credit card at the mall the other day. You'll need clothes for school."

I groaned, remembering the failed shopping trip. "Um, it's a long story but I think I'm good with the clothes I have now."

"If you're sure," Grace said disbelievingly.

She left and again, I was alone with my thoughts. Some thing was nagging at me. What could it be? _I've decided to go to school, I'm mentally prepared to deal with everyone there, I know sports will be fu—Grace! _

That's what it is! Grace mentioned paying for all my things, and it didn't sit well with me. At home, I had a job. Nothing spectacular, just waitressing, but my family needed it. Mom didn't like it, so I secretly slipped it in to her 'secret' bill paying envelope every month. I had been working double and triple shifts right after we learned about Mom's condition. We had to pay the medical bills, and I knew that would be my responsibility.

At home I was always occupied. I had sports year round, worked, took a few honors classes that kept me busy. Now here I am sitting in my room with nothing to do. I decided my next move was to get someone to give me a tour of the city. I needed to scope any job opportunities within the city.

I reluctantly heaved myself off of the surprisingly comfy bed, and made my way towards Ella's room. _Man I really need to get back in shape,_ I thought as my muscles protested.

Not bothering to knock on the door, I barged right through. "Ella," I said in a singsong voice.

A yellow blur charged right at me and I made sure we fell on the bed. "Hey what's wrong Ella-bear," I asked, looking down at her with a concerned look.

She shrugged, scrubbing at her face. "I was just thinking, you know?" Ella pleaded with her eyes for me to understand.

"I know Ella-bear, I know," I said quietly in what I hoped was a reassuring voice.

Now I was reluctant to ask her to direct me around town, but before I could say anything she interrupted. "Max, are you trying to get a job already?"

"Um, maybe?" I squeaked. She looked at me and I cracked. " Alright yes, will you show me around town?" _I really need to get better at resisting the Bambi eyes. _

"One condition: over work yourself, because I know you will," she said when she saw me about to protest. "And you have to be upfront about giving Grace and Jim the money."

"Ah, Ells? That was two conditions."

"Don't change the subject!" She said, annoyed.

I thought for a moment. "I promise not to run myself down, but I want to be sure Jim and Grace get the money. You can't be sure that they'll take it if I try to give it to them."

"Max," Ella pleaded, trying to wear me down. This time I wasn't budging. Finally she sighed. "Alright, we'll see what happens if you get a job in the first place,"

Ella conceded.

I fist pumped. "Well come on! Time is a' wasting," I chirped.

I ignored Ella's grumbling and made my way to the door.

Just as I was reaching for the keys, I felt a presence at me side. When it spoke, I whirled around and got into a fighting stance. "Whoa, whoa, calm down."

I glared at Fang, and snapped, "Don't do that!"

"Why do you keep telling me to stop breathing?" Fang smirked.

I gave him my best death glare and his smirk faltered for a moment. I doubted anyone else would have caught it, so I guess I had two reasons to lift my chin triumphantly.

"Ella, hurry up!" I yelled, beginning to get impatient.

When I looked back at Fang, he had his eyebrows raised questioningly. "Would it kill you to say a few words?" I asked, definitely impatient now.

He just shrugged, causing me to sigh in defeat. That was when Ella appeared. "Finally," I breathed.

"Oh look, it's Fang," she observed intelligently.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," I looked to the sky, mentally asking what I did to deserve a sister like Ella. Don't get me wrong, we had our moments, but his wasn't one of them.

"Your welcome Lieutenant Sarcasm," She shot back without hesitation.

That caused me to stop and look at her appraisingly. You had to admit, that was a good one. "Well done, young Grasshopper, I've taught you well."

She smiled haughtily, and the sense of pride disappeared just as quickly as it had surfaced. "Let's get this show in the road," she said, oblivious to my lethal death glare boring holes into the back of her head.

"Where're you going?" Fang finally spoke before We had gone out the door.

I looked at Ella, begging her not to reveal the real purpose behind this trip. "I'm just going to give Max a tour of the city, maybe we'll walk around the high school," she improvised.

He nodded and took the keys from me. Ella and I stood there for a few seconds, both of us spluttering in shock.

_Are we going or what?_ He asked with his eyes from the driver's seat. I sighed, knowing when I was beaten and hopped in next to him, leaving an unhappy Ella to sit by herself in the back seat.

"Wait! Fang!" Iggy, Gazzy, and Nudge suddenly materialized next to the driveway.

"Fang, we'll see you when you get back alright?" They all smiled creepily.

I looked to fang, confusion etched into my face, but he just ignored be, nodding his ascent to the three goons on the lawn. _Something's going on there, _Ithought remembering that day at the kitchen table; _I'll have to watch out for that. _

Quickly dismissing the thought, I looked back to Fang, taking the time to examine him. Even now, sitting down, he was tall. At least six feet, probably six feet and an inch. He was tanned too. Maybe he plays sports as well. I could see his sizable biceps and all his other 'ceps through his shirt. I couldn't tell if he had a six pack, but I could only assume. He was handsome, even I could tell that, but I wasn't mesmerized. I'm not looking for a boyfriend, let alone a potential date now or anytime soon. I'm sure Ella could tell you that he was h-a-w-t hawt, but I guess I didn't have an eye for that kind of stuff. You can picture me rolling my eyes here.

"I guess we'll go to the high school first?" Fang asked, braking me out of my daydream.

"Sure, you're the tour guide," I shrugged.

We all piled out of the car, and I caught my first sight of my new Jail cell. Er, cells, if you want to count each individual class.

Sure, I expected to see the new jail cells, but what I never expected to see my old warden.

Sam.


	9. Chapter 9

**You'll be my best friend if you answer some/all of the questions at the bottom! And remember to leave me a Comment. Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 9

Sam Jacobs. In one word he's deceiving; and intimidating; also a jerk as well as a pervert. You could also say he was an amazing actor.

Alright, so maybe I can't describe him in one word but hey, I'm in shock here.

Sam Jacobs had a piece of my heart at one time. Granted it was a tiny one, a crumb of it really, but he had a hold on me nonetheless. He transferred to my high school in sophomore year. I was sixteen, didn't really care about boys, so he wasn't even a blip on my radar.

Until the beginning of Junior year. That was when my mom had begun to feel sick, and I could feel the stress begin to build on my shoulders. I had just gotten a job at a little restaurant called Junior's. He happened to be a cook there during the same shifts that I had. I learned that we actually had three classes together. It took me a while to warm up to him, and I might not ever have talked to him again if I hadn't felt so helpless.

I had just made the decision to drop out, and stay home with my mom, meaning that Ella had left, and Mom had revealed the details of her fatal condition. During that time, I needed human contact. _Craved_ it even. Sure, I had friends: JJ, Eva, Jack, Reed. The difference was that I had known them forever. They _knew_ I was strong, unbreakable. They depended on that.

Sam was different. I could hold him at arm's length, yet still hold him close. We both knew that we could be intimate only behind closed doors. Well, my version of intimate. I'd let him hold my hand, wrap me up in his arms, have the occasional wrestling match. Which I won, thank you very much.

But then he started to change. Well, I guess I did too, but that was because my mother was nearing the end by this point. I was shutting him out; I always had an expressionless mask on my weathered face. The funny thing was that I lost emotion, but he let his run loose.

Sam got angry. Dangerously, terrifyingly angry. I don't know what sort of things he was doing to himself; now I suspect it was drugs, maybe alcohol. Whatever it was, it was strong, and it was bad. He hit me a couple times, threatened me a couple more.

Now you must be thinking, _what? Max would never let that happen to her, she would totally beat him up. _Normally, I would, but remember my world was crumbling around me. My friends had tried to keep up with me, but they couldn't see me at school, I didn't go, I had to play nurse. They couldn't see me after, I worked as many hours as possible. They couldn't even see me late at night; that was when I brought Sam into my basement, to just lie there, sometimes we talked.

My mom was dying slowly but surely. He face was yellowing; her beautiful tan nowhere in sight. Her cheeks were hollow, face gaunt. Beautiful rosy cheeks had deteriorated. Her once bright eyes were now tired, and showed that she was ready for the end. She had given up. The doctors told me she was constantly in pain, and I couldn't do anything but talk to her, keep her comfortable, carry out her final wishes.

Ella was gone. I talked to her maybe one every two weeks over the phone. She had wanted to skype, but I knew my appearance wasn't something she needed to see either. I had lost weight, but I didn't care. I was beginning to be afraid to look in the mirror.

Anyway, Sam was then trying to push me further than I ever intended. It never got that far, but it still terrified me. I didn't show it, but I think that Sam might've been the one person I was actually scared of. One, because he was dangerous, and two, he was the only one I had really let get close to me.

Now, seeing him standing in front of me, all of those emotions came rushing back, and they hit me like a freight train. I stumbled back into the car, and Fang was immediately at my side, supporting most of my weight. Ella followed soon after.

"Max, what's wrong?" Fang asked, a twinge of desperation in his voice. Somehow, he understood the magnitude of the situation.

I nodded at fang weakly, but then turned to Ella. I had told her the bare minimum about Sam in one of my weaker moments. "Sam," I croaked, jerking my head in the direction of the track, where he had begun to run laps.

Ella's eyes widened as she took in the sight of him. "Fang, get in the car and take us somewhere else," She said taking charge.

Fang looked at her for a moment, but then I felt his gaze on me. Without any warning, he scooped me up and placed me in to passenger's seat with ease. I gasped, but quickly squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to meet anyone's gazes, and also making an attempt to block out the memories.

I felt someone grab my hand, causing me to crack one eye open. I saw a tan hand that was connected to a worried looking Fang.

Normally, I would yank my hand away, but this was Fang. For some reason, he was different. I didn't know if I liked it or not.

Either way, I held on to his hand for dear life as he drove aimlessly throughout the city, somehow knowing that the soft rumble and vibration of the car would soothe me.

Eventually, my harsh breathing relaxed, and I opened my eyes to find that we had made it back home. No one had moved.

Once I opened my eyes and sighed, Fang's eyes snapped to mine, and he took my face in his hands. "Max," he breathed, "you scared me half to death." Taking on a stronger tone he continued, "What happened back there? Was it that guy running on the track?"

After a moment, I gave a nearly imperceptible nod. I spoke to him slowly, and reluctantly. "Fang, I'll tell you everything in side. Ella, I need to talk to him alone." Seeing her mouth open to protest, I quickly cut her off, "Ells, I'll be okay. WE can handle it," I said looking at Fang.

She got a knowing look on her face, and somehow found it within herself to smile. Smile!

"What's so funny?" I asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," Ella replied, an innocent expression on her face. "I'm just gonna go talk to Nudge about a new development in our, um…experiment."

She jumped out of the car and sprinted towards the door, but I know she felt my death glare, they always do. I smiled creepily in satisfaction.

Out of the corner I saw fang roll his eyes. "Come on, we'll talk in my room," I told him, getting out of the car and letting go of his hand somewhat regretfully. Only _somewhat_; don't be getting ahead of yourself.

We walked in comfortable silence, our shoulders brushing occasionally. I paused in the doorway of my room. "Are you sure you want to hear this." When he nodded, I opened the door and lay back on my bed. Fang stood awkwardly for a moment, painfully aware of the lack of chairs. I rolled my eyes when he sat cross legged on the floor.

"Oh come on, get up here," I scooted over too make room for him on the twin bed. It felt good lying next to him, feeling his warmth, knowing that I had someone for the long haul.

I was suddenly brave knowing that he wouldn't run when he heard my story. So I told him; all of it, not just Sam.

Now he knew, And I wasn't about to let him go.

**Questions:**

**1) Are the characters relatable? So their emotions seem real?**

**2) Is this story well-written?**

**3) Going off of what you've read so far can you rate this story on a scale of 1 to 10? (1 being ****_horrible, I regret ever reading one word of it_****, and ten being ****_this is the best story I've ever read and you would recommend it to people_****)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for all the reviews! Keep 'em coming. IF you have any ideas for how to make my story better, _pleas_****_e_ share your wisdom. I'd love to hear it.**

**Skatzaa, HeadOverHeelsInHate, some Guest, and Traumatised Bookworm are officially my new best friends. Thanks for being honest. **

**Chapter 10**

"Smile for the picture Max," my mother's kind voice pleaded with me. A I did _not _want to obey, I wouldn't and that was that. I continued to pout at the photographer until my stomach grumbled.

I walked as fast as my stubby legs could go, and reached up to grab onto my daddy's pant leg. "I'm hungwy, Daddy!"

He chuckled and picked me up. Daddy leaned over and whispered something in mommy's ear. She skillfully balanced Ella, while leaning over to whisper something in the picture-taker's ear. Hehe, that's funny. I do that with my friends.

When Mommy and Ella were in place to the picture-taker's liking, Daddy bent his head and whispered to me, "We can go to the Outback Steakhouse after this."

Naturally, I beamed up at him. I knew he was good for something. Before I could realize what was happening, a bright light was flashing in my eyes. Wait, the light didn't flash, it stayed on. What is that?

I shot out of bed, realizing that it wasn't the photographer's camera that flashed, someone had turned on my bedroom lights.

"Don't shoot the messenger!" I heard Gazzy yell from down the hall. I glared, hoping the intense laser beams shooting from my eyes would travel through the walls and burn into his tiny, guilty body.

Giving up on my mission to rid the world of a Gazzy, I sat on my bed and pondered my dream. I'm not a deep, philosophical thinker by any means, but I remember that from when I was four years old. I remember that day as one of the best in my young life. I hadn't really minded the pictures, I just liked to annoy my parents. Even then I was a trouble maker.

The only thing that didn't add up is that Ella is five years younger than me. When we went to get our pictures taken, I was four. Huh, I guess I just can't have a perfect day without Ella there. Whoa, wait a minute. I meant, I just can't have a perfect day without Ella there to _ruin_ it, that darned girl.

I felt my eyes starting to droop, so I checked the clock to see why I had to wake up so early. It was 7:00. In the _morning! _Ridiculous I know. However, the thing with me is that if I wake up, there is no way I can fall back to sleep. I've never been one of those people who can fall asleep on command. I have had my fair share of being _jealous_ of those people though.

I counted to three in my head, then heaved myself up off the bed, and out the door. With my eyes half closed, I started down the hallway, only to bump into a rock solid wall. My eyes flew open as warm, inviting arms grabbed around the waist. Walls don't have arms! Oh well, they're soft. I settled back into the arms and smiled, hoping I would magically fall back to sleep.

Then I felt a vibration as the wall chuckled. "Max? Time to get ready for school."

I mumbled something incoherent, and made no move to extract my self from Fang's arms.

He chuckled again and picked me up like I was a feather. What is it with this boy and carrying me places? Not that I mind at all. You know, because who likes to walk places?

Fang settled me into a wooden chair that I assumed was my spot at the kitchen table.

Suddenly I perked up. I smell…syrup! My eyes snapped open and landed on the pancakes.

I heard laughter, and not just from Fang this time. I looked up to see the whole family watching in amusement as I took in the sweet aroma of Grace's homemade syrup.

I huffed in annoyance and said, "I think we've already established that I'm in love with food, so I don't know why this would surprise you."

"Don't worry Max, Iggy and Fang are just jealous that you almost eat as much as they do," Angel's sweet voice cam to my defense.

"What do you mean _almost,_ I can keep up with Iggy and Fang just _fine_, thank you very much."

Once Grace had set out the plate of pancakes so that we could all dig in, Iggy, Fang and I dove in with no mercy. By the end of breakfast, the count was Fang 8, Iggy 9, and me 7 and a half. I tried to stuff it in, but apparently my stomach had other ideas.

Grace, Angel, Ella, and Nudge were sorely disappointed, being my diligent supporters. Iggy, Fang, Gazzy, and Jim just kind of nodded like that was what they expected to happen. I vowed to never again let that expression cross their faces ever again.

"You done good, kid. You done good," Nudge said to me after the battle was lost.

Ella and I looked at her quizzically. "Um, Nudge? She lost," Ella said with zero tact whatsoever.

I glared at Ella, letting her know that her comment did not go unnoticed. I then turned the force of my gaze on Nudge, awaiting her response.

"I know, I've always wanted to say that though. Hey, where did that quote come from anyway? Oh never mind, who cares. Don't you think I should be an actress though? I mean I delivered that quote with such raw emotion—"

"Bye Nudge!" I said loudly.

I ran up the stairs, _but myself this time_, I thought bitterly. I mean, I only thought that because no one likes to walk. I said that before, but it's true, I promise you. Everyone should have a personal Fang to carry them around. Oh wait, then I wouldn't have him to mysel—moving on.

Like I said, I made it to my room unassisted, and threw on a T-shirt and Jeans. Before I walked back into the hall to gather up notebooks, pens, pencils, etc., I checked the hallway to be sure neither Nudge nor Ella was lurking, waiting to pounce. Because, seriously, how cliché would it be if they tackled me and made me over on my first day of school.

The coast was clear except for Iggy and Gazzy who were snuck glances at me when they thought I wasn't looking. Their whispering wasn't very discreet either. Why so people keep doing that? Is there some kind of whisper about Max club going on here? I'll have to interrogate Fang later. Or maybe Angel, but I could just picture Gazzy shaking his head at me and saying 'low, Max, that was low.'

Oh well, now I just need to worry about navigating a giant new high school. Thoughts of Sam nagged at me, but I didn't allow them entrance. I refused to let my past haunt me at this new, kind place.

Once I had reached the bottom of the stairs, I realized that I had no idea where they kept the notebooks and school supplies; or when school started; or where the office was so I could register or…anything about the school, really.

I debated my options for a moment, then decided yelling was the best option. "EELLLAAA!"

"WHAT!" she yelled back in a similar fashion. See? Obnoxious, yes, but also effective.

Ella appeared after a moment looking annoyed, with half straightened hair, half of it gone wild.

"What?" Ella practically had steam blowing out of her ears. You _don't_ want to mess with Ella and her hair…just don't.

My eyes darted around, looking for an escape route, and quickly darted to the stairwell, ignoring Ella's furious rants from downstairs. I approached Fang's door. Well, what I _thought_ was Fang's room. Although, I think the black door was a pretty good indication of whose room it was.

I didn't bother knocking, just walked in. Fang's back was to me. His very _shirtless_ back. His very _muscled_ shirtless back. I took a moment to ogle him, then cleared my throat loudly.

He turned around, not looking surprised, then pulled a shirt over his tan six pack. "Nice six pack," I observed, trying to cover up the fact that I had liked that view a _lot._

Fang smirked cockily. "Well, that's what happens when you play football, soccer, baseball, and are on the swim team."

I decided that he needed to be taken down a notch. I flexed my bicep and a satisfactory bump of muscle appeared. "Well this is what happens when you play soccer, softball, volleyball, basketball, are on the swim team, and do gymnastics."

Fang looked impressed, but quickly covered it up, so that I wasn't sure if it had ever been there in the first place. "Your list may be longer, but mine is more manly."

Seeing my murderous look, he cut me off smoothly. "What did you come in here for anyway?"

"Where are the school supplies?"

"I need some notebooks too, just follow me." Fang walked out of his room, leaving me dumbfounded. Wow, that boy has some muscles.

I jogged to catch up to him and asked, "Hey Fang, can you walk me to the office before school?"

He looked at me, amused. "Max, what did you think I was going to do, leave you to the wolves?" He chuckled. "I'll help you check in Max, no need to worry. I can probably walk you to homeroom too."

"No, that's okay. I can find my classroom's by myself. What If my homeroom is across the school from yours?"

"And what if they're right next to each other?" Fang shot back. He was not giving up for anything.

I sighed. "Alright, just don't make me give you my books to carry. Don't want to seem like some sort of damsel."

He rolled his eyes and smiled. "You're a keeper Max, that's for sure."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

So here we are once again at the Jail; well, my version of it at least. Fang, being the oldest drove us all in his mom's van. I sat in the passenger's seat, as was becoming custom for me, and Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel sat in the middle. In the last row, a frantic, whispered conversation could be heard from the back seat, where Ella and Nudge sat. The conversation was occasionally interrupted by loud fits of giggling.

Just as I was starting to get a drift of the mysterious backseat conversation, Fang slowed the car to a stop, cutting of any opportunities for eavesdropping there may have been. Fang, apparently not seeing any need to speak, simply looked at Gazzy and Angel, giving a silent good luck with a nod of his head.

"Bye Angel! See you later Gazzy, Have fun you two!" I supplied, cheerily, making up for Fang's unspoken goodbye.

"See you soon, Gazzy, don't break too many hearts today, bro," Iggy winked.

"Ttfn! Don't worry Angel, I know you'll make a bunch of friends. You're such a nice girl. I mean, Gazzy is too, but you know, I wouldn't always wanna be worrying about my hair exploding," came Nudge's inevitable reply. At least it was short.

"ttyl! Have fun you two!" Ella put in her two cents.

"What in the world does ttfn mean? Or ttyl?" I wondered aloud.

Fang shrugged at me, obviously not keeping up with the new teenage slang either.

He was rudely reminded that the car had been idly sitting in the drop off zone for three minutes now as the car behind us honked obnoxiously. Fang cringed at the not so subtle reminder, and we were back on the street within seconds.

Unfortunately, Nudge was the only one of us who remembered my question after that. "You know, the two of you," she said, gesturing to Fang and me, "should really keep up with the lingo these days. 'Cuz I mean, soon enough, you guys will be married to each other and have teenagers of your own, and you'll have horrible communication problems. And then Max's name would be Max Stewart. Or maybe Fang could be Fang Ride! Oh my goodness, yes! That's it"

"ttyl is talk to you later and ttfn is ta ta for now," Ella cut in shortly.

"Thank you," Iggy breathed, and I agreed wholeheartedly.

Finally we had arrived at The Jail, and Fang parked a ways away from the front of the school.

"This always happens," Iggy whined, "We drop off the Gasman and Angel, which makes us too late to get a good parking spot."

"Right, that's why we're late," Ella said dryly. "It's definitely not because you spent half an hour in the bathroom trying to make your hair look like 'perfectly organized chaos.' I mean, seriously, who refers to their hair as 'organized chaos?'"

"Someone whose hair looks better than yours," Iggy snorted.

Ella rolled her eyes. "How do you even do your hair if you can't see it?" I asked, my voiced tinged with curiosity.

"I have my ways," He said mysteriously.

"Come on," Fang said, yanking me towards The Jail. "You still need to get your schedule, and then I have to walk you to homeroom."

I rolled my eyes at his effort at chivalry. "Pfft, what a gentlemen," I muttered to myself sarcastically. "What ever happened to _not yanking women across parking lots?" _I said the last part loud enough so Fang could hear.

He rolled his eyes at me, but still let go of my arm. Missing the contact, I linked my arm through his, making him smile that heart melting smile. My smile.

As we picked our way through the parking lot, several people said hi to Fang. He just smiled politely and nodded at each one.

_Wow, he's really popular. I guess that's what you get for being on so many sports teams._

"Why don't you go over and talk to them Fang?"

"I'm walking you to the office," He said in a _duh_ voice.

I rolled my eyes and shouted, "Hey! You over there! Come over here and walk with us!"

The guy I had shouted at smiled at me, obviously amused at my antics. "Well how could I say no to that polite invitation?"

Fang rolled his eyes and said, "Well that's Max for you."

"Max, huh. Seems like a fitting name. I'm Jake," Jake stuck out his hand for me to shake.

Smiling, I said, "Am I supposed to be offended at that, because I could totally insult you better than that."

He threw back his head and laughed a loud, booming laugh. "You're a keeper Max, that's for sure," he said, slinging an arm over my shoulder.

I stopped for a moment, remembering how Fang had used those exact words not too long ago. Fang stopped as well, giving me a look and said, "How unoriginal. If you really want Max to like you, you'd probably have to tackle her or something."

"but you'd have to be prepared to lose," I interjected.

"Oh, I don't think I'd have to worry about that, I mean, look at these guns," Jake said, showing off his muscles.

"Man, you two could be twins! Only, I bet you," I poked Jake in the chest, "said ten words for every one meaningful look of Fang's."

Jake grimaced, dodged Fang's death glare and said, "That's not an accomplishment. Talking more than Nudge, now _that_ would be an accomplishment."

"If by accomplishment you mean you'd win the Nobel Obnoxiousness prize, then yes, that would be a great accomplishment." I said incredulously.

Jake sighed and turned to Fang. "You just can't win with this one, can you?" He said, hooking his thumb in my direction.

I smiled innocently as Fang said seriously, "Don't lose hope, I'm sure it's possible."

Just as I was about to crush any crumb of hope they had, Jake skillfully evaded my sharp comments and interrupted, "Here's the office."

I gave him and evil 'I'll get you next time' look, and walked in after Fang, who just smiled and shook his head at the both of us.

Tearing my gaze away from Fang, I turned my attention to the person sitting behind the counter, and boy did I wish there was someone to say, 'pay no attention to the man behind the counter.'

My breath quickened, and I'm sure my face lost all color. If I had known what, or rather who waited for me here, I would never have agreed to attend The Jail.

After all, a Jail was never complete without its warden.

**So what do you guys think of Jake? I personally like him so far.**

**To be honest, I'm just making this story up as I go. I have a very vague outline in my head, but mostly, I write as the ideas come to me, so I'm sorry if it's not too exciting.**

**I'm sure you know who the person behind the counter is, but any comments on that?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

So there I was, just walking in politely like any other girl would, and the BAM! Assaulted with emotions; Anger, disbelief, grief, shock, dread, just about anything you could think of passed through my head just then.

I never thought I'd see him again. I mean, maybe in my subconscious I knew that it was likely that he transferred here when I saw him on the track, but I guess I decided that denial was a better way to go.

Do I act like nothing ever happened? Do I hide and hope he doesn't see me? Maybe I could shout at him until they expel me.

Personally, I'm in favor of the last option, but before I could think it through, my mouth formed words that were thought up on the spot. "Hey Sam, long time no see, huh?" I said coolly, not betraying the emotions that were swirling around in my head.

But he saw them anyway, he could always see right through me. Sam had always claimed that he could, and I quote, 'see the raw emotion swirling in your eyes like a Picasso painting'. What a cheese ball.

His eyes widened as he took in the tenseness of my posture, how I was ever so slightly shrinking away from him. With soft, pleading eyes he said, "Hey Max, we should really catch up sometime soon." In a more somber, vulnerable voice he said, "There are some things I need to say."

"No," Fang cut in. I had completely forgotten that there was anyone else in the room, let alone the urgency of our time situation. "Max needs her schedule, and then we'll leave," He continued in a deadly calm voice.

Man, that boy can be intimidating when he wants to be. I just swallowed loudly, and nodded in agreement. I was still trying to get over my initial shock at seeing him again.

Sam looked at me for a moment, as if searching for something. I guess he found it because he then typed something in the computer and printed out a schedule all in rapid succession.

Jake, who had also slipped my mind, snatched my schedule from Sam's fingers, giving him a death glare. For a guy who was so lighthearted and joking a moment ago, he has a mean death glare. And that's coming from the no-competition-gold-medal-winning-Queen-of-death-glares. I knew that Jake had no idea who that was, so he must have been taking cues from Fang and me.

As Fang and Jake pushed me through the door and down the hallway, memories flashed through my head.

_Sam opened the door for me and bowed as though her were a servant in my court. I gave him an exaggerated curtsy and rolled my eyes, my way of showing him that the gesture was appreciated somewhat, but definitely not necessary. I had told him many times before that I was most certainly _not_ a damsel in distress. _Ever.

That had been in the beginning of our relationship; the transition between couple and flirty friends.

_Me curled up in a fetal position; one of the rare times I let all the emotions out, the good and the bad. I heard footsteps on the stairs. It was Sam, my knight in shining armor. Once he caught sight of me, he was at my side in an instant. Pulling me to him and murmuring things that only he knew would comfort me. _

That was when our relationship along with my mother, was crumbling. It was one of the rare moments where the old Sam resurfaced.

_Sam came down the stairs like he always did and I greeted him with a smile. Well, what had become my version of a smile when my life was deteriorating and there was nothing I could do to stop it. He hadn't come by in a few weeks, and it was a huge relief to see him again. Sam though, he did not greet me with a smile. He wore an ugly, stubborn scowl that was rather scary. His fists were clenched, muscles tense, and his jaw was clenched. _

_"Take it away, Max. Why won't you take it away!"_

_I just looked at him, my eyes bitter, reflecting my emotions, but I knew I was in too deep to back out now._

_"I can't help you. I can't help anyone. All I ever do is watch my world burn until it's all ash."_

I don't know if you noticed, but I hadn't been all sunshine and rainbows back then. Sam and I were at our breaking point then. I hadn't known it then, but he must have had something bad going on at home just like I did. He must've been just as broken as me; as hopeless as I was.

Finally I was shaken out of the memories by someone pleading with me. They sounded desperate, haunted even.

"Max, please…show me those sparkling eyes. You're okay. Come back."

I was finally back in my own body, in the present. I just held on to that sweet, familiar voice. Then I was aware of two different hands gripping each of mine, and I clung to them for dear life. I pried my eyes open to see a pair of dark, almost black eyes and a pair of scared, concerned baby blues.

"It was him, it was Sam," I choked out, breathing heavily and unevenly.

"I know," Fang muttered and took me in his arms, presumably scanning my face for tears but finding none. "You're fine Max, I've got you."

I took one more shuddering breath and buried my face in his shoulder. Once I got my breathing in control, and no longer felt lightheaded, I untangled myself from Fang.

I turned to Jake and, oddly enough, I wrapped him in a warm hug and breathed deep. "Thanks. I hope you don't think I'm an emotional, hormonal teenage girl like Ella." I smiled weakly at him, pulling away slightly to see his face.

He frowned down at me, his face creased in concern. "Max, I know that I've only known you existed for about twenty minutes, but I think I already know you better than to think that. And anyway, if I said that to your face, you'd probably knock me into tomorrow," He winced at the image in his mind.

I could tell that he was itching to ask me about what had happened, but knew better than to ask. I was still caught on something else that he said though. I slipped out of his arms to look at the both of them. "Are you telling me that all three of us missed the first twenty minutes of first period on the first day of school?"

They exchanged a look, smirked, and then said simultaneously, "Yup."

I rolled my eyes at them, but quickly rearranged my expression into a suspicious one as they exchanged another glance. Only, this time, it was a mischievous glance.

"It's a wasted day anyway, might as well skip it all and go do something…shall we say, _interesting_, with our time," Jake said, the glint in his blue eyes fully restored from before.

**So, do we like the protective side of Jake and Fang? How do we feel about Sam now that the tiniest bit of his past is revealed?**

**Comments, suggestions, criticism, anything is welcome.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Alright, usually when someone offers to skip with me, I jump at the chance. But this is Jake and Fang. Jake and Fang. _Jake_ and Fang. Just like he said, I've only known him for about half an hour, but I know enough about the guy to be a little scared.

Am I suspicious?_ Yes_. Do I need to get out of here and shake it off? Heck yes!

"Alright, I'm in," I say a little shakily, both because of my mental breakdown, and because I don't do well in situations where I'm not in control.

Jake offers me a hand to help me up, and I take it gratefully. I finally take in my surroundings only to find myself in an empty, unfamiliar hallway. Huh, I must have been out of it for a while. I guess I can understand why Fang and Jake were as scared as they had been. I can be scary when I'm in control of my own body, but when my mind is elsewhere…I couldn't even imagine.

I shuddered, and I guess both of my gentlemen (cough, cough, _cavemen_, cough) friends noticed.

"Here take mine," They both said offering me their jackets.

They looked at me for a moment, over my head. Why does everyone have to be so darn tall? I mean, I'm not even that short!

"Listen boys, I know my charm is very difficult to resist, but you'll have to try," I looked at them with exaggerated understanding, "for me." I pouted at them during that last part, hoping to dissolve any arising conflict.

Fang rolled his eyes and put his jacket around me anyway. Jake draped his over my face, effectively blocking any chance of me not displaying my clumsy side and sprawling across the floor.

I sputtered and wind milled as I desperately tried to keep my balance, but it was a fruitless attempt. I started to tip over, but just when I was about to fall flat on my face, warm arms wrapped around me.

Just as I was about to turn around and thank Jake for catching me, the floor started spinning. Then, it jerked around and twirled, and did a dance right before my very eyes.

They were playing catch with me! Jake, who had saved me from falling on the floor, promptly threw me over to Fang, who—fortunately for him—caught me. Fang spun me in a circle over my head, and tossed me back to Jake as though I weighed less than a feather.

"Hey! You'd better not drop me, 'cuz if you did, I'd have to wish you good luck trying to walk without any legs!"

"Relax Max," Fang grunted as he caught me again, "Just enjoy the ride."

Jake smirked at me as I flew through the air back towards him. "Yeah. Isn't that your name? 'Ride, Max Ride's the name, don't wear it out.'" He imitated me imitating James Bond. Or did he imitate James Bond who I was imitating? Maybe Jake imitated Fang imitate—geez, I sound like Nudge. Shudder. Let's just forget that little episode ever happened.

"Are you quite finished yet?" I asked, starting to get annoyed.

That was when the bell rang and kids of all sizes started barreling to us. Oh joy.

"Um, guys?" I started nervously. "Maybe we should take a break with the 'almost-kill-Max-by-using-her-as-a-volleyball' game? I don't really feel like doing a stage dive on top of some little freshman."

"What?" Jake said. "Nonsense, we'll just throw you over their heads!"

"Yup," Fang agreed, popping the 'p'.

"Woah, are we playing the 'almost-kill-Max-by-using-her-as-a-volleyball' game? Awesome!" A familiar voice answered his own question.

My sister's voice then popped in, laughing obnoxiously at Iggy's comment. Well, you know, she might have also been laughing at the sight of me being thrown around like a rag doll.

Anyway, I guess Ella took Iggy from class to class without Fang. "Aww, Max look at you! You've finally found your true calling in life!" She sneers at me.

Jake caught me and held me there, not throwing me back to Fang and I sighed in relief. "Yeah, it looks like that doesn't it? But I think you guys might have a better calling in mind for her." This left me thoroughly confused, but I suspected it might have something to do with all the secretive whispering and giggling at my expense that has been going on recently.

Suddenly Nudge appeared, and, having heard that last comment let her mouth run loose. "Oh my goodness! This is the moment we've all been waiting for!" She squealed, confirming my suspicions. "I should totally be an announcer 'cuz that was amazing! Wait, let me do it in a deep, announcer voice. 'This is…the moment…we've all been waiting for! Yes that was per—"

Everyone simultaneously slapped their hands over her mouth. Unfortunately, Ella continued on for her, even though Ella contributed in silencing Nudge.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I can't believe the moment has arrived! I would never get away with something like this at home! I can't believe we're about to throw Max in the—"

Everyone used their other hands to silence Ella's ramblings this time. Well, except Jake and I. he was still holding me bridal style. I was comfortable enough so I didn't protest, though I was very wary of going anywhere with this group now.

_Whatever_, I decided internally, _I'll just go with it_.

"Forward march!" I commanded Jake.

He rolled his eyes and we all walked through the now empty halls. "So why dud you guys miss first? Someone," Iggy glared at Fang who was leading him down the stairs now, "left me to fend for myself. Well, you know, with Ella, but that's as good as by myself."

"I resent that," Ella muttered.

Fang glanced at me, and Jake, by default, the answered smoothly, "We decided the first day is always a waste anyway."

Jake and I nodded in agreement. Then a thought suddenly pooped into my head. "Hey Jake?"

"Hmm?"

"What did you do with my schedule?"

He pulled a crinkled paper out of his pocket. Of course. How could I expect anything less from a boy?

He handed me the paper and I scanned it.

_Period one: Trigonometry_

_Period two: AP World History_

_Period three: Music_

_Period four: Chemistry_

_Period five: AP English Literature_

_Period six: Spanish_

_Period seven: Track_

Hmm, not bad. Although, it's always a joy come to school and have trig to wake up to. If you can't sense the sarcasm, you don't deserve to see inside my mind anymore.

I closed my eyes to soak up some warmth, seeing as we had made it to the parking lot outside. I fel Jake stop suddenly , so I cracked open an eyelid to see that we had arrived at Fang's car

"So, the journey begins," Iggy said mysteriously.

**Any ideas on what they're gonna do to Max? Sorry I keep dragging it out, but I like the fluffy, filler chapters too, as long as they're entertaining. And it's not like I update that slowly anyway.**

**Comments, Reviews, suggestions, and criticism are welcome.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Fang stopped the car dramatically, coming to an agonizingly slow stop. Everyone sighed happily, and took a deep breath.

From the passenger's seat, I gave Fang a quizzical look. He smiled a real smile at me, and it put me in a daze for a moment, but I was able to catch most of his comments. "…don't get to do this often. It's, how do I put it…an initiation of sorts." His grin turned mischievous.

I glared at him, then turned to everyone and said, "Whatever it is that you're planning, I hope you know I won't go down without a fight." I looked at each of them in turn, making sure they understood.

"And even if you do manage to do whatever it is to me, you won't get away without punishment."

Ella gave a satisfying gulp at my Cheshire cat grin. She had seen it before and had learned to fear it. Oh boy did she learn to fear it.

She laughed nervously, trying to release some tension, but it only resulted in everyone else starting to look a little scared too.

I cackled madly and made sure I was the first one to get out of the car, leaving them all there looking at me, dumbfounded.

I took in my surroundings, and my breath caught at what I saw. It was a lake. The sun was reflecting on the water perfectly. The trees surrounding the lake were effortlessly tall, pure green, and they provided the essence of a fresh air smell. The grass was wild and free.

I took off my shoes and let it weave between my toes, melting away all of my stress. I could feel the weight lift off my shoulders. I rolled my pants up and waded into the water up to the middle of my shins. The weather was perfect for this kind of thing. It was sunny enough that it warmed me to the core, but it was a good kind of warm; a cozy warm.

I breathed in the scent of sap on the trees, felt the sun wrap its arms around me, and fell back in the grass, a smile of pure bliss on my face.

Then I heard an annoying fly buzzing in the background…oh wait, that's my sister's voice. "…maybe we shouldn't do it. She looks os happy right now, and she's had a really hard time lately. With…," she choked up, and I couldn't take it anymore.

I popped up and wrapped my arms around her from the back. "Hey, Ella Bear, what did you do to make your eyes all sweaty?"

She rewarded me with a strangled laugh as the tears continued to flow in a steady stream. "I was doing push-ups with my eyes so that Nudge and I can communicate through our eyes like you and Fang," she choked out.

I laughed humorlessly, starting to fight back tears of my own. "Naw, Fang and I don't need to work out to do that, we just have a telepathic connection. Maybe we were twins in another life."

"More like telepathetic," Ella muttered under her breath.

"That was weak, Ella, I've taught you better than that," I teased, hoping to lighten both of our spirits.

"Would it make you feel better to throw me in the lake?" I asked, before I could rethink it.

"Max…" she said. "I don't know. Maybe we should just enjoy a day to ourselves without any pranks." I've got to admit, Ella was a good actor, but I could see that the glint in her eyes had comeback, and it wasn't from tears.

I rolled my eyes and started scrubbing the tear tracks on her face with my thumbs. "Why don't you go round up the troops, and I'll go peacefully. I won't start a prank war today." Maybe tomorrow I could do inventory on their water guns though….

Ella looked at me for another moment, then pulled my face down to whisper in my ear, "Thank you Max, I love you." Then she darted away to find the others, who had all drifted away to give Ella and me a moment.

I was shocked. Ella and I had never been affectionate. I mean sure, we hugged on command and everything, but that was fro pictures mostly. I don't ever remember her seriously saying 'I love you' to me, or me saying it back.

Too little too late I whispered to where she had been standing, "I love you too Ella Bear."

I was just staring at that spot, a faint smile dancing across my lips. It reminded me of mom. She would have loved this place so much.

All of the sudden I was being lifted again, only this time, I don't think we'd be playing the almost-kill-Max game.

Trying not to let on that I had known this was going to happen—that I encouraged it even, I gave a little yelp. I really hope I didn't sound like some annoying, yappy dog. It's not that I'm a bad actor, at all. I'm just going to blame this one on an overload of fresh air. That could happen right? Like when your breath gets taken away when you look at something so beautiful it blows your mind. Gosh what had happened to me? I'm turning into such a sap.

Just as I was finishing my inner monologue, I was suddenly immersed in water. If the water hadn't been about waist deep, I probably would've swallowed a bunch of water, and gagged from being surprised. Attractive, I know. But my ninja skills kicked in right when I needed them. Actually, it was more like cat reflexes, because I landed on my feet.

I had landed facing away from everyone, so I had time t compose my face into a scary grimace to scare my captors away.

I turned around slowly, adding to the creepy effect. I saw the whole gang standing in knee deep water. Rolling over each other and laughing.

When I heard Iggy say, "Where are those ninja skills now max?" That was the last straw.

Iggy was the first to fall…literally. I tackled him in to the water, effectively soaking him from head to toe.

"Nooo!" Jake yelled. "You have taken one of our own. Now you must pay."

He signaled to all of them to charge at me, but I knew their weak spots. "Wait, Nudge, Ella, are you really going to let the guys dominate this game? What ever happened to girls rule boys drool?"

They looked at each other, and came to an unspoken agreement. With a rather formidable war cry, they charged at the boys, me following soon after.

Somewhere in the middle of the fight, Fang, Jake and I had teamed up, surprising our original teams by turning on them ruthlessly. Then the teams were us three against Ella, Iggy, and Nudge.

By the end, all of us were soaked to the core, and shivering in the cool breeze.

"How do we get home without soaking Fang's car?" Ella asked, once it was obvious that we were all done. My side had won, obviously. Although if you asked Ella, she'd probably tell you differently, but everyone knows that big sisters always win, and little sister's whine about it afterwards, so that's to be expected.

"Does anyone have a hand towel? Like for P.E. or something? Because there are always these three girls with lockers next to mine who have _sooo_ much junk in their lockers, and they always drop things on my head. Sometimes it's dirty wet wipes. _Gah-ross! _Then they do this thing where they take of their—"

"Just get in the car! Hopefully it'll shut her up," Fang muttered that past part. I bet you can guess who he was talking about.

Now that we were all finally situated in the car, trying to keep the seats as dry as possible, I silently said my goodbyes to my new sanctuary, and tried to memorize the way to get here, as I knew I would need to come here to clear my mind quite often.

Once we finally arrived back at home, my eyes were starting to droop, and I was yawning constantly. Fang chuckled at me after I yawned for the fifth time in one minute. He jumped out of the driver's seat and opened my door before my groggy brain could make my arm move toward the handle. "Thanks," I mumbled incoherently as I slid out of the car.

Before my feet could hit the floor, Fang caught me in his arms and proceeded to carry me toward the house. I closed my eyes and breathed in deep, enjoying the feel of his arms around me.

He had to shuffle around for a minute, presumably to get the door open. I snuggled deeper into his arms once we were inside the house. He really was a good pillow.

My little nap was rudely interrupted as I heard Grace scream, "FANG NICHOLAS STEWART, YOU'D BETTER RUN NOW IF YOU EVER WANT TO GIVE ME GRANDKIDS WHEN YOU GROW UP!"

Uh, oh.

**So, how are you liking the story so far? I feel like it's still really boring. Sorry if you think that too. I'll try to make it more exciting when they actually go to school :).**

**Any further opinions on Jake? Or even Sam, for that matter?**

**Suggestions, comments, and criticism are welcome.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

Hey guys! I've given this a lot of thought, and almost didn't do it, but I decided to do my own story, using my own characters instead of using the Max Ride characters. I've uploaded this story on Wattpad now. Some of the characters are different, but not enough to change anything too drastically.

ummm, I tried to post the link several different ways, but none of them worked. You just have to go to Wattpad .com (Without the space) then in the discover search box at the top, type in ddolly6. Then you should see my story, Just My Luck right on top.

I've only uploaded one chapter, but the rest should come soon, after I go back and edit what I've already written (basically just change names, maybe make each chapter a little longer).

Thanks for all you support, and I hope to hear from you on Wattpad!

-K. C.


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